People send their kids to Montessori school and get an idea that maybe they can give their child more independence. But Montessori is a whole lot more than that. Here is my latest infographic about being a Montessori parent. I would love for you all to embrace being a Montessori…
Sometimes people are surprised to learn that Montessori principles can apply from birth. And most commonly I hear people say, “if only I’d known about these ideas earlier". So here are all my favourite ideas for introducing Montessori even to the youngest children. If you have toddlers, preschoolers or older…
I love this time of year. It’s cool outside, it’s getting dark earlier and earlier, the festive lights are going up along the streets — such a lovely time of year to get cosy inside and a great time of year to establish rituals in your family. (Apologies to those…
I still remember when my son was young and getting into battles with him to leave the park, a friend’s house or even home. I’d start nice and patient; then I’d kind of be bribing him with some idea about what we were doing next; and I mostly always ended…
As a Montessori teacher and parent, I am constantly looking for ways to see the world through the child’s eyes. It helps me to understand what is going on for them and to give some guidance when necessary. What I’ve realised is that I have become a child’s translator. And…
Confidence is defined as “Trust or faith in a person or thing; A feeling of reassurance, especially of self-assurance." A parent recently asked me how they could gently give their child more confidence. The Montessori approach engenders confident children as these children are shown every day that we believe they…
We are so lucky to have many wise parents in our classes. One of these is Laura Carmichael. When I posted here about starting a revolution of kindness, Laura wrote back about her love of creativity and creation to spread kindness in their family. I loved the idea so much,…
It’s the last week before the school holidays start here in the Netherlands. So it will just be a quick post today. Revolution of kindness I was thinking about something we could all work on over the summer. And I’ve decided on something rather ambitious. Let’s start a revolution of…
When my son was a toddler he hated leaving places. So I would begin to dread when it was time to go home. I’d be thinking, “how am I going to get him to leave soon?" No matter how long we stayed, there were always tears. And did I mention…
Today I’m planning something a little different for this blog post. Usually I offer advice and practical suggestions on ways to get cooperation from your children, or how to understand your child better. Today I’d just like to muse a bit. Ok with you? I’m curious if this will resonate…
It’s been nearly 6 months since I set up The Montessori Notebook. Whooosh. That went fast. I’m realising just now (ha!) that what I am hoping you will be learning along the way is a Montessori mindset – respecting the child; preparing their spaces so they are beautiful and engaging…
Usually in my newsletters and blog posts, I address the most commonly asked questions I hear from parent. Not today. It’s something I rarely even get asked about. But it’s something that I have learned as a Montessori teacher that I want to share with you. Maybe it’s meant to…
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